


Save me if I become My Demons

by Quetzalcoatl_is_my_Momma



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Fairy Tail, Justice League - All Media Types, Mythology- Freeform - Fandom
Genre: Batfam fix-it, Batfam is under Natsu's Protection, Batman doesn't like it but what you gon' do?, Bruce Wayne Redemption from being a bad dad, Bruce Wayne's A+ Parenting, Damian Wayne Redemption, EXTREMELY OOC Natsu Dragneel, He can't age or die of old age but he will die if he's hurt bad enough or poisoned, I decided that there WILL be smut, IM BACK BITCHEZ!!!, Inspired by Ocean Eyes And Saltwater Tears by Banana_Writes05 and a little bit of my original work, Just much later, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Natsu Needs a Hug, Natsu is Semi-Immortal, Natsu is depressed, Natsu tends to follow his Chosen People home, Other, Slow To Update, Some Humor, Supernatural Elements, This is gonna be one of my best ideas yet, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Tim you better be ready for some Salamander dropping in at 2 am, World Building?, so uhh, soooo....
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:41:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22194955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quetzalcoatl_is_my_Momma/pseuds/Quetzalcoatl_is_my_Momma
Summary: Tim has had enough of Bruce and the people in Wayne Manor (except for Alfred) pushing him aside. Bruce had faked his death and walked back like nothing had happened. Damian had tried to kill him and no one did anything but give him a slap on the wrist. Dick? Dick came back from hiding ONLY after Bruce came back, and Jason was run off by morals Tim may abide by in the family, but that some should be a clear exception to.The family is fragmented and everyone in it has wounds in desperate need of healing. Who knew that Tim patrolling near the  WE building would lead to the Batfam's (and the world's) saving grace. An anomoly even for metas in the form of a pink-haired nineteen year old with draconic attributes- claws, tail, wings, even horns- who could wield, breathe, even eat fire fighting a battle against a world that few can see, yet smiles as best he can anyways, even if it looked emptier than Tim's last cup of coffee at Wayne Manor. As the magic hiding this ancient fight of shadows begin to crumble, the BatClan reach out to their comrades in the Justice League to get to the bottom of this. Along the way they'll have to draw lines that will decide what's more important to them- Family, or a Grudge?
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Bruce Wayne, Natsu Dragneel & Damian Wayne, Natsu Dragneel & Dick Grayson, Natsu Dragneel & Jason Todd, Natsu Dragneel & Justice League, Natsu Dragneel/Timothy Drake | Red Robin, Past Natsu Dragneel/Gray Fullbuster
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	1. Summerfall

**Author's Note:**

Salamander snarled as his fist smashed into the face of a Fallen, sending it’s shadow-constructed skin to burst into a cloud of ashes back into the afterlife from where they were forcefully pulled from. The boy panted, the black claws on his red-scaled fingers gleaming in the light of a street lamp and his wings flared and trembling from the exertion. His tail lashed the concrete before it relaxed and the salmonette sighed, dropping his arm and slumping a bit. The sigh turned into a small puff of red, gold, and orange fire when he spread his wings a little more before folding them. “There’s about three hours left before sunrise…” Salamander mused in relief as he looked up at the still dark sky.

Salamander shifted his gaze to the large building he was in front of; the dragon-boy read the glowing sign that spelled out the name on the skyscraper- _Wayne Enterprises_.

**_Fallen Lights- Reanimated creatures or humans of Light Guilds who were once alive using black magic and the power of shadows that are created by the Black Wizard Zeref to fight in an unrecorded war in the years 091 to 791._**

**_Demons- their numbers reached twenty-five with their descending order moving towards the strongest at zero and Zeref himself at the head of their dark order, the Ballam Alliance, bringers of Darkness under the belief that they would achieve world peace._ **

Salamander placed a palm on the building’s side before closing his eyes and sliding down the stone granite with an exhausted sigh, deeming the area safe for the time being. Red eyes with a golden hue ringing their slit lizard-like pupils slid closed. _It probably won’t hurt to nap for a bit…_

**_The only ones who could stop them were the Ancient Guilds. The Guilds were gatherings of magical creatures and incredibly gifted humans on all corners of the world what could control the very elements, make you see feasts where there was empty plates in reality, either help you breathe under the oceans or make you drown on dry land, can starve you even if you eat, and change the weather._ **

**_The most proficient of these Guilds were the Light Guilds._ **

Before the teen could start to doze off a scream followed by curses pierced the air over him and he snapped to alertness. His bushfire eyes flitted from shadow to shadow in the streets before him before he looked up. In the city he was living in for now he found there was a family of vigilantes, almost like the Light Guild he was part of back then, named the Bat Clan. Salamander’s eyes widened when gunshots rang out only to be met with hisses and shrieks. The Batclan could _SEE_ Fallen Lights? if that heald true, they would see him as well...

The dragon-boy sucked in a breath before firing off and slamming into the Fallen Light’s side, getting a screech from the reanimation and a shout of surprise from the one it was chasing.

“Leave this to me- you need to run! Your weapons can’t hurt it, just keep it locked down!” The one it was chasing- he was in red and black, a cowl over his head- was on the ground and staring at him. Salamander just grit his teeth and turned to face his new adversary. He couldn’t worry about the Bat now.

When it snarled at him, crouched like a grotesque frog on the rooftop, Salamander’s gaze tightened and his teeth grit because he recognized the one the twisted Black Mage brought back this time. Bushfire eyes narrowed and filled with grief before they looked at the Fallen Light’s feet instead of its eyes or face- nowhere near its head, really

**_Their sole mission was to eradicate the Fallen Lights and any other Demons that walked the lands, while the Dark Guilds followed the practices of the Ballam Alliance and served their every wish while carrying out their deeds._ **

_“Natsu, hurry up! I need rent money!”_

Blank chocolate eyes that were more like mud in a swamp to their original glow and stringy balding straw-yellow hair where sunny strands once grew long and warm. Fangs dripped black poison sludge that hissed on the concrete before eating away at the stone with it’s poison-infused saliva.

_“Natsu why are you in my house? Did you even go through the door?!”_

**_The Light Alliance was winning their war towards the end of the year 791 when the Black Wizard himself entered the battlefields. With just a wave of his hand, he killed every single one of the Light Guilds on the battlefields that day._ **

Salamander’s eyes burned but he refused to cry. He hadn’t cried in nearly 2,809 years, not since he saw them die and lived to remember the sight, so he had no right to cry now. The Fallen Light hissed as she brought her clawed hand to her waist, unclasping a whip wreathed in steel spikes from her belt before she lashed in on the ground, ripping up a chunk of concrete. A challenge. Salamander barely blinked before the Fallen Light lunged and kicked him in the chest, sending him rocketing up into the sky before he righted himself. What was once beautiful white angel wings was now rotting feathers and maggot-chewed skin that exploded from the Fallen Light’s back with a sickening crunching sound. Salamander grit his teeth. This wasn’t the first time Zeref had thrown a member of his old family at him like this.

**_Ever since that defeat, Light Guilds began to fall like leaves from a winter tree. Before long, the only Light Guild left was the strongest of them all- the guild known as Fairy Tail, the King’s Last Line of Defense. But not even they could hold the Dark Army at bay. Except for the last Fairy. Flames burned brightly in his soul, the blood of dragons roaring in his veins and with powerful wings to push him through the skies, the one called Salamander, Natsu Dragneel, END, the End of the Demons, was left to walk the earth alone and forced to fight his family again and again and again as the Black Wizard brought them back. Through the centuries, Natsu’s battle faded into the background of the world as it began to start anew. The Fallen Lights began to fade from the Commonfolk’s sight like a mist in the rising dawn, and now only a handful of humans could see the battle being waged in the shadows._ **

Salamander lit a fist on fire, the red, gold, and orange tongues licking at his skin like the flames of his dragon father before him, giving him strength where his heart waivered. Sludge-brown eyes widened when the Fallen Light, the former Star Maiden _Lucy Heartfilia_ , realized that Natsu would not hesitate. Her fingers melded together and thrust forwards, forming a pike that dug into one side of his lower torso and out the other just as Natsu delivered a devastating right hook, making the reanimated girl he once knew shriek before she burst into a cloud of black and white particles.

The burning in Natsu’s eyes grew even more, but he refused to cry still even as the sun came up while they stood on the rooftop.

**_The Bubonic Plague that took down Europe’s population by two-thirds was the work of Zeref’s forces, and Natsu always fought. In event after event after event._ **

Blood trickled from Natsu’s mouth as the hole in his side began to take it’s toll. Hands touched his shoulder but Natsu snarled, canines flashing as he spread his wings and took to the skies. The touch of another after sp many centuries alone was like acid on his scales. He couldn’t get close to people anymore- while he would continue to live unaging and young forever due to his dragon’s blood, anyone he would love, care for, and cherish would wither away into dust and die.

**_World War I…_ **

**_World War II…_ **

**_The Vietnam Wars…_ **

**_Time after time after time, the Last Fairy will fight for their sake… and he would continue to do so alone, with the daylight as his only reprieve from the horrors that nightfall would bring._ **

Soft steps padding on the stone sidewalk echoed around the streets as the sunlight peeped from over the horizon of buildings. A boy was in a hoodie shuffling down the way with a huge travel backpack on his back. His feet were wrapped in rags and oddly shaped- one would think he had a birth defect. The boy paused before his mouth turned down slightly and he opened his mouth to show his teeth, revealing sharp canines as smoke billowed from the corners of his mouth as he ducked his head.

The phone beeped as a finger presses the button for a voice message to play. When he hears the one speaking the hand freezes.

 _“Hey, it’s me…Okay… I know I said that I needed time, and it’s been a little over a year since I left.”_ The voice of a young man spoke over the answering machine shakily, the landline blinking as it played it’s recorded message. A man with a large frame and black hair and blue eyes stared at the phone from his chair behind a desk, eerily still and his eyes clouded with an unreadable emotion. _“But something happened, something serious… I don’t know if you’re able to see them, but there’s been things happening all over Gotham City that can’t be explained. Three weeks ago, I think I saw the reason they kept happening.”_ Blue eyes looked up at the three other people in the study.

Richard Grayson, Damian Wayne, and Alfred Pennyworth looked at the phone with varying expressions of concern, incredulity, and irritation before they looked at their father/employer Bruce Wayne.

_“There’s something out there that looks like a cross of a human and a-a dragon, and it’s fighting something else that looks- I don’t even know. We need to get to the bottom of this, and I need you guys’ help… Bruce, I’m coming back because there’s something we’ve missed. I’ll tell you more when I arrive.”_

In the warehouse district, the boy in the hoodie is pouring a basin of heated rainwater over his head, washing off the crusted mud and ash from salmon locks with the warmed liquid. Looking up in the mirror, the boy gazed at his young face with the jagged and huge scar on his cheek and peeking out from under his neck. Scales shone to a point under his eyes and up his neck while his irises glowed like magma. Claws combed through pink hair and the dragon-boy groaned as he stepped away from the mirror. he pulled his hoodie off to show his torso heavily bandaged- it didn't matter, it'd heal before night fell again. “Another day, Another Rise… Till night comes and the Fallen Lights Cry.” Natsu curled up on an old ratty mattress and sighed, fire puffing from his mouth as he looked at the dilapidated building’s roof when he finished the phrase from centuries past.

‘ _Until night falls again… Brother.’_


	2. Awaken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Batman and Nightwing realize that maybe Tim's story isn't a story after all...

** Gotham City, 8:45 PM **

Ruby red eyes slid open as the twilight sun poured over the top of Gotham’s crumbling recreational gardens. A fanged mouth parted slightly, tasting the humid air and clawed hands reached up and combed through pink knotted locks. Natsu Dragneel’s wings twitched before they flared upwards and his tail arched as fire ran between the scales like veins with the blood of the earth pumping through them. Gotham Nightlife was booming tonight- a Friday, end of the workweek. The changeling huffed, fire puffing from his jaws as he crouched down like a Gargouille before leaping into the air and driving his wings downwards.

A hard breeze came from the north and Natsu wobbled slightly in mid air as he rose. _‘A storm is brewing…’_ he thought , frowning up at the cloudy skies. Golden-yellow sparks danced across the gold speckles on his tail, making lines as the lightning reacted with the air. bushfire eyes focused back on the streets, flitting from one area to the next over Gotham when he heard the shriek of a Fallen Light near Wayne Tower _again_ , followed by many screaming humans, though they would only see the ground getting holes in it from unseen blows and buildings get hit by unseen fists and attacks. What was it about that stupid building that attracted them?!

Natsu let himself become focused on his hunt. He was Salamander now, the END of the Fallen Lights and the one who would put them to rest. But what he didn’t expect to hear after the roar was a shout- the shout of a _human_. _“Cursdro!”_ He growled. He drove his wings down and shot upwards before diving, seeing the two in a deadly dance on the rooftop of Wayne Tower.

With a roar that would make his dragon father proud, Salamander spun and slammed the Fallen Light away with his tail, sending it bellowing over the ledge of the building and to the streets below with a loud sickening _crack_ before coming to a skidding stop in front of the one the Fallen Light was fighting. The scent of night wind, electricity and very faint gunpowder coiled in Salamander’s nose and he huffed. _“Stay back if hi want wah lahney.”_ the man stood still as if he was processing what Salamander just said before bringing up his sparking sticks, the blue bird symbol on his suit flashing in the light of the streetlamps under them. “I have no idea what it is you just said, but you shouldn’t be here.”

A bellow made Salamander stand up straight and light both fists on fire. _“Get away nol thdro place. Jul weaponne can Ni hurt niin.”_ With that Salamander flipped off the roof and gave a roar as he sent a flaming punch at the Fallen Light who had jumped up towards the roof again. It was a bulky huge thing with no hair at all save for a mustache of two dots and a long beard that was slick with mud and saliva, but it got into a semi-familiar stance and the streets were ripped up to make a spire shoot towards the approaching changeling. Some humans still in the streets screamed and police cars arrived on the scene, but were ineffective in trying to keep the monster down- especially when a pillar of **_Iron Rock_** came and flipped several cars.

Salamander barely had enough time to grab the few people still there and keep them from getting squashed. Setting them down, he told them to run and he observed the magic once more as it was sent at him.

 _“Nii seemme jura hdro decidaan wah rise, ruz?”_ Salamander said as he bent back to dodge the blow. With that in mind he dug his claws into the stone and flipped onto it, continuing his dash with flame streaming from his fists. The Fallen Light growled before slamming his hands into the asphalt and encasing them in the rock and dashing to meet Salamander midway.

Before they could collide a batarang embedded itself into the road between them. making them pull back at the suddenness.

**“That’s enough.”**

Salamander grit his teeth before turning to the Dark Knight. _“Thdro los Ni hin place, vul knight! begone!”_ he growled, his native tongue making the pronunciation guttural and rolling like a shifting mountain, tail flicking back and forth as the protector of Gotham came down to their level- it was times like these that the eternally young dragon-teen regretted not learning the languages of this era. _“Thdro vulom los Ni gein hi can luft!”_ The Fallen Light didn’t like being ignored or interrupted. With a roar it turned and jumped on Salamander, making the eternal teen flip away and jump into the air to circle him. When the Fallen Light saw that he couldn’t get to the flying dragon-boy, he went for Batman.

Swooping down Salamander gripped the man’s cape and flew them higher before dumping him on a roof. _“Bat, hi kos Ni welcome near zu'u.”_ that made the Dark Knight visibly pause but before he could say anything the strange non-english speaking metahuman was gone and back in the fight below. Batman threw a batarang at the behemoth but it phased through it’s body, leaving a smoky trail where it entered and exited, but no visible damage on the monster was seen.

Salamander sprang and flipped around the street and on the sides of the buildings as he avoided being struck by the Fallen light. Jura was getting increasingly angry and started tearing up slabs of sidewalk to use as frisbees to throw at the moving target, and Salamander would smash them into dust with a well placed flaming punch or slide by gracefully using his speed and reflexes.

**_“Karyū no Tekken!!”_ **

Batman didn’t like it, but with Nightwing telling him that his escrima sticks had had no effect on the monster when he went to fight it either; both batclan members were forced to observe the fight. By now Commissioner Gordon had gotten all civilians from the area so there were no casualties on that end. “That’s him, isn't it? The one Red Robin was talking about?” Batman grunted an affirmative, noting the strange being's use of dual languages- Japanese, but the other was unidentifiable. “Well, guess it’s not all crazy talk now.”

The teenager down below yelled out another attack and he roared a pillar of fire so intense that the two vigilantes could feel the heat from their position three stories up. “Hey, I think the big guy is slowing down.” Nightwing said, tensing when the rock monster staggered. The dragon-guy capitalized that moment of weakness, bursting into flames and dashing towards it while brandishing his claws. _“Praan, Jura! **Karyū no Kenkaku**!”_ Batman tensed. “Wait…” Nightwing said. “Is he really-?”

Slamming his taloned foot down into the street, the claws digging into the concrete and propelling him with their anchoring, the dragon-guy rocketed himself forwards after cloaking himself in a thick blistering veil of fire that even the two Bats could feel and smashed through the rock guy in a super-powered head butt like he was a sword through a slip of paper. The rock guy, who’s name must have been Jura from what the two vigilantes could understand, let out an agonizing roar as he disintegrated. Nightwing let out a strangled grunt when he realized that the kid just _killed_ someone, and the black blood dripping from his salmon-colored locks and the horns on his head slick with the liquid was a testament to how brutal the kid was willing to be to get the job done. Batman grit his teeth and prepared to go down there and take the kid in when Nightwing grabbed him by the shoulder. Batman scowled at the younger vigilante but when Nightwing gestured to the street below he really _looked._ Batman looked down at the lone figure standing in the street and realized that this kid may not be an out-of-control meta after all.

For one…

_Clean streaks were being carved through the black blood on the kid’s face. He was crying._

=›◊‹=

Natsu cursed his weak heart as he felt tears streaming down his cheeks. He hadn't cried when he faced _her_ the week before… _why_ is he crying after defeating Jura of all people? Turning, Natsu spread his wings and took to the air, for once leaving a battle without any wounds that made him bleed. Maybe it was because he was actively protecting something, the Bat and the Bird? Maybe, maybe not- Natsu always fought harder when something near him was a reason to protect… back then, it was the Guild. Now, he didn’t know what he protected, only that he had to fight to get to Zeref and put his former guild mates, his friends, his _family_ , to rest for good.

As he rose with every beat of his wings, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an old beat-up and fireproofed iPhone. It didn’t get service, but Natsu was able to download music to listen to while training since they came out. Scrolling through his playlists, he tapped at his chosen song and set the volume up high. With his sensitive ears he’d be able to hear it over the roaring winds.

 **=›◊‹=** **_Play_ Awaken _by_ Ray Chen & Valerie Broussard =›◊‹=**

_The night was still young so he didn’t have to return right away; deciding to just fly and try to forget, even for a little while, Natsu put it upon himself to use the city as an obstacle course. He spun as he flew skywards, piercing through the cloud cover that seemed to always remain overhead to hang in the air, the moon behind his form as he reached for a constellation, one Lucy used to compare him to._

_Draco_.

**_The night beckons while you dream,_ **

**_A life never lives in peace._ **

“You never stop puffing fire, like he does!” _she’d say. Natsu looked to the Swan, reminded of his mate taken all too soon. Black hair and navy blue eyes like the midnight sky._ Gray…

**_As you stand upon the edge,_ **

**_Woven by a single thread,_ **

**_And fate may fall down upon you~_ **

_For once Natsu wanted to let his mind go blank, wanted to become a machine of action, reaction, and power. He just wanted to become cleared and mindless for now. Just until the next night arose where the Fallen Lights returned._

**_While the devil is knocking,_ **

**_Right at your door~!_ **

_So, with the music blasting, he did, spinning in the high skies until his momentum came to a stop, letting him hang before he was gripped by the earth’s pull. Closing his eyes, Natsu let gravity take control. He spun and twirled as he fell to earth before righting himself and rocketing through the streets and into the more busy areas of traffic for more of a thrill. Most humans couldn’t see him anyways- if Batman didn’t show, he’d be fine._

_The dragon boy spun through the air and raced along the sides of buildings as he sprinted and flew through the city he was calling home for now._

**_So all you restless,_ **

**_Each night you hear the drums of war!_ **

**_Awaken, awaken,_ **

**_The voice begins to call you while you hunger~!_ **

**_A taste of destiny you're searching for,_ **

**_Awaken, awaken,_ **

**_The fight is at your door, take up the cause~!_ **

_Natsu arched up the side of a building and curved over it, leaving a trail of flame in his wake that licked at the places where his feet landed, yet never burned through anything._

**_[Violin Solo]_ **

_Flipping onto the roof of a skyscraper, Natsu landed on all fours, his wings splayed out to balance his landing and tail curved to stabilize him. he stood straight and looked over at the other buildings. he backed up and kept his wings tucked firmly to his sides all the way to the other side of the roof._

**_Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken…_ **

_Natsu dug his claws into the concrete before he rocketed off the building with a mighty leap, flying through the air without using his wings. Fire licked along the scales of his shoulders and elbows as he landed in a cloud of dust, only to get up and leap again to the next building._

**_Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken…_ **

**_Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken…_ **

**_Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken…_ **

_Finally landing at the last building, Natsu lept one last time but unfurled his wings with a mighty whoosh, like cloth catching a breeze. Flying high into the sky, Natsu broke the sound barrier in a sonic boom. He felt his tail whipping through the air behind him, keeping him balanced and even all the while._

**_As you stand upon the edge~!_ **

**_Hanging in the balance,_ **

**_And fate may fall down upon you,_ **

**_While the devil is knocking~!_ **

_Diving once more and towards an older part of Gotham, Natsu flew into the more compact and tight areas. He reached out blindly and grabbed a fire escape, using his momentum to flip onto a ladder and scrabble up that. He flew off the metal rungs and surfed down some rather large pipes in an older area. His actions had reactions, reactions were the cause of his actions. He didn’t have to think about it at all._

**_So all you restless,_ **

**_Each night you hear the drums of war (Hear the drums of war)_ **

**_Awaken, awaken,_ **

**_The voice begins to call you while you hunger, (While you hunger)_ **

**_A taste of destiny you’re searching for,_ **

**_Awaken…_ **

_That was all he wanted, really. To not have to think of what came next. He flipped onto another roof near his nesting place, the rays of the sun reaching towards the skies as he arrived. He’d been flying all night. As the sun came, so did his blankness dissipating like a mist._

**_Awaken…_ **

_It was a pity, really… what he wouldn’t give to be blank again. But he had a job to do._

**_Awaken~!_ **

Natsu slowly opened his eyes in the abandoned Botanical Gardens, the plants a vibrant green as they seemed to notice his presence once again. It was strange- he had absolutely no affinity for nature magic, he was a son of fire… but the plants seemed more than ready to accept him. he looked up at the sunrays streaming in from the skylight before letting out as tired sigh. _And so our game begins once more… until night comes again, Zeref._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRANSLATIONS!
> 
> 1) Cursdro = Curses!  
> 2) Stay back if hi want wah lahney = Stay back if You want To Live  
> 3) Get away nol thdro place. Jul weaponne can Ni hurt niin. = Get away from this place. Human weapons can not hurt him.  
> 4) Nii seemme jura hdro decidaan wah rise, ruz? = It seems Jura has been chosen to rise, then?  
> 5) Thdro los Ni hin place, vul knight! begone! = This is not your place, Dark Knight! Begone!  
> 6) Thdro vulom los Ni gein hi can luft = This darkness is non one you are able to face.  
> 7) Bat, hi kos Ni welcome near zu'u. = Bat, you are not welcome near me.  
> 8) Karyū no Tekken! = Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!  
> 9) “Praan, Jura! Karyū no Kenkaku!” = Rest, Jura! Fire Dragon Sword Horn!


	3. I'm Back: Walking Through the Light of Day (I See Someone I Know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My story is officially kicking off now- Natsu is unable to sleep and spends the morning walking around Gotham to get some daytime food for once. Tim poured through footage and Dick makes a piss-poor attempt to reconnect with his brother. Damian, meanwhile, gets his turn to see the unseeable.

Natsu would forever blame it on his inability to stay in one place for long despite his self-given duty and a lingering worry that would creep up on him every once and a while.

The night had given way to day long ago and despite his usual routine of hiding in the forest or his hidden warehouses/abandoned botanical garden until night fell again he couldn’t seem to get his over-energized body to settle down; tossing and turning on his moldy mattress the eternal teenager hissed between sharp teeth as sleep eluded him. The sun shone through a heady carpet of greyish-white clouds and cast a soft light over the city Natsu hid in, making it bright enough to add to the last fairy’s insomnia and have him click his teeth together in a catlike fashion as he admitted defeat.

Throwing the old blanket off of his body Natsu threw on a human jacket and wrestled some long baggy sweatpants on that would hide his inhuman lower half. Checking his appearance in the gritty mirror-like surface of the windows he deemed himself at least less hobo-like than usual for those who could see through the crumbling magical barriers and climbed up the wall of the warehouse to the human-sized skylight. With his tail keeping him balanced he fluttered his wings as he stood on an exposed beam of iron in the skylight, looking up at the clouded-over sun for the first time in several years, then hopped off of the roof. His stomach growled and he hummed, faint wisps of smoke trailing from the corners of his mouth as he felt hunger gnawing at his belly. “I could use a pastry…” Natsu mused as his lizard-like pupils widened in accordance to his casual musing. “I haven’t eaten something from daylight hours in years… coffee wouldn’t hurt either.”

Crawling in his usual animalistic way the salamander climbed down from the roof of the warehouse and landed in a crouch on the damp sidewalk. Looking around cautiously and tilting his nose to the air for other people and finding none nearby, the half-dragon being stood and put clawed hands in his coat pockets, taking off down the path towards the inner city as his wings lightly tapped the sidewalk every few steps.

The magic barriers protecting his fight from the eyes of mortals prevented them from seeing his true appearance- him as a whole- but with the few he’s met in the past few centuries or so he wasn’t taking any chances and had flipped his coat hood up to hide himself from those fate-chosen few- it wouldn’t last long, but he didn’t want to take any chances. So long as Zeref was around trying to break down said barriers (and succeeding little by little every century) he couldn’t risk it.

With a gait more akin to trotting than an actual jog Natsu went about his mission to get some real food for once. As he went deeper into the more populated areas of Gotham the last Fairy found himself amazed at the amount of variety humankind had gained since the fall of Age of Magic. Though the magicmobiles that had been replaced with the vehicles powered by processed ‘meat’ of the planet still gave him nausea just by thinking about them, the fact that they were faster than those of his era ever were amazed him when he _wasn’t_ puking his guts out thinking of them. As a group of humans waited at a crosswalk Natsu decided to pretend, just for a moment, that he was one of them, waiting for the silly little white lit man on the display to turn on so they could all safely walk across the street.

Even if he had never been a full human in the first place, Natsu liked to pretend that he was like them.

A normal mortal boy with normal mortal troubles.

* * *

Tim groaned as he pushed himself off the keyboard. He had run through the CCTV footage _hundreds_ of times in the last three nights, blue eyes focused and sharp as he picked apart the fight that the strange being had taken action in. His encounter with the female- well he didn’t want to say _woman_ because that thing looked anything but save for the rotting breasts literally falling from her body in some areas where they were still connected but it was a female of _some_ kind- seemed to have sprung something within Tim Drake and on Bruce’s ‘orders’ he began combing the CCTV for any and all footage concerning these creatures who fought each other to kill every single night.

Not to mention the wound the dragon-thing had gotten protecting him…a light rap on the desk beside him made the man jump and spin around, eyes falling slightly when they spotted the cause for the noise- Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson stood to the left holding a plate with a breakfast sandwich on it and a nervous smile.

“Hope you still like McMuffins…”

Tim huffed and turned away. The hurt he felt all those months ago was still fresh in his cheat and mind- really, he wasn’t even _living_ at the manor any longer, but he wasn’t camping out at Kon’s place anymore in Bludhaven either…

“I’ve combed through all the CCTV from the last 72 hours,” Tim began as Dick set the food down. “Our strange meta is able to slip through crowds of people with his wings out and tail wagging without anyone batting an eye.” Dick hummed, understanding there was a time and place to try for a truce and this wasn’t it. “Have you found out where he goes after his little sprees?” Tim leaned forwards, fingers dancing on the keyboard as he tracked the footage around the city. “Gotham’s abandoned Botanical Gardens- Ivy had vacated the place about three years ago and never went back, _so_ he must’ve figured it was a good place to shack up in.”

“what about the sample of blood Bruce got from when he and I saw him?” Tim’s eyes flashed. “That’s a problem- the blood isn’t showing up on _any_ of our human or alien databases, in fact… it’s actually not on any of our databases… not even the League’s.” Flippantly the younger man shoves a pile of papers into Dick’s hands before standing and walking away. “Get that to Bruce. I’m going out for some coffee.”

Dick watched as his younger brother strode away with slightly drunken-esque steps. He heaved a sigh before tucking the papers under his arm and glancing at the untouched plate on the desk forlornly.

* * *

Natsu churred in his chest like a hatchling seeing a new animal for the first time and wanting to play as he bounded across the seventh crosswalk he came across in the city.

The humans without the Sight still stayed well away from his wings, latent abilities to sense the abnormal and steer with a healthy distance around it. walking among the mob quickly ended when they got to the other side and Natsu extracted himself from the next crosswalk group he had found himself in to trot to the nearest bakery and café- a block away from what he picked up from a passing duo of women. He perked up and his tail started to wag slightly, betraying his excitement towards the prospect of some food so close by. As he rounded the corner only minutes later and inhaled the scent of coffee and muffins while browsing through the window he blinked at the scent of someone nearby.

_Spices like those of the desert, curling shots of warm milk and dark chocolate._

Straightening slowly, the hybrid turns slightly to see a boy who couldn’t be any older than fourteen staring at him from across the street with wide emerald green eyes, looking akin to a spooked cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back?
> 
> happy halloween, my little feather-snek-bebies! Don't go out too late if you are and eat as much candy as you can without puking~! After the 2020 we've had, we deserve it.
> 
> Short chapter tonight. see you all soon as I get back into the groove~!


End file.
